Miscellaneous Pics . . . October, 2011

Couple of quick pics from the month of October . . .

First up, Pai had a bit o' fun with the washable markers . . . meet Noel van der Schmoot and Ethan Snidley Whiplash

Next up, a fight to the finish for the floating car at the playground (note: Noel took this particular battle):

Lastly, an adorable picture of the boys in their recliners, which were a great 1st birthday gift from Avo. They're not far from demanding popcorn with their (limited) tv time.

Halloween at HBK - 2011!

What a difference a year makes! HBK, throws a little Halloween get-together each year and its the one time that the whole Brigade gets to visit Dad at work. Last year was our initial effort and it was mildly successful, at best, given that the boys HATED wearing their costumes and had to be vacated after a very brief 30 minutes.

This year, however, was a HUGE hit, both with them and with their Dad and Pai (not to mention Avo, who was in attendance!). While the initial reaction to the costumes was expectedly lukewarm, once we got them in front of the mirror, they realized they were a monkey (Ethan: hoo, hoo, hoo) and a macaw (Noel: flapping his wings), we were in business!

The boys were a huge hit at the party and were incredibly extroverted . . . lots of good pics to choose from . . .

First up: the standard hay bale pic














Next up, Noel experiencing a new food item - lollipops!




















Couple of great pics of each boy looking pensive at the window:





















Lastly, Ethan went for a wander and located the HBK mail cart . . . he demanded a chauffer-driven tour of the office, which was a good job for Dad! Definitely a fun day all around.

First Trip to the Texas State Fair!

The Brudams made their first venture to the Fair as a family and we weren't sure what to expect. We had some great successes with the Hands-on Farm Experiecne and Petting Zoo and less success with the Dog Show. Check out below for a few pics:

Ethan sizing up the scarecrow:














Noel picking out an egg to take to the market:
















Ethan with his egg next to the dairy farm
















Dad and Noel transporting the goods to the market on the tractors:















Ethan trying to get a closer look at the Petting Zoo





















Post-Fair trip home - Ethan in a food coma and Noel is down for the count.

Potty Training - the early days . . .

In looking through the blog entries tonight, came across this unfinished post from back in October . . . cleaning up and posting what has been most assuredly one of the most beneficial deicions we've made as parents . . .

Back in October, when the boys were only 21 months old and had been in school for exactly 5 weeks, Noel's teacher approached us with the news that Noel was "showing interest in potty training." Pai gets full credit here, as he was encouraging from the outset . . . Dad, on the other hand, thought all parties involved were cuckoo crazy, having never heard of potty training kids so early. Reluctantly, Dad ultimately relented thinking that we could always revert back to diapers if it didn't work . . . a thought that prompted Noel's teacher to reply, "Oh, no . . . once we start this process, there will be no going backwards!"

Well, I'm sure it won't be the last time that our incredibly boys proved Dad very wrong . . . though the results were certainly mixed, both boys adapted relatively quickly to the concept . . . I guess there's something to be said for watching older kids use the bathroom for 4 hours each and every day.

Pics below are from our earliest days . . .

• Ethan, legs akimbo, staring back (likely instead of peeing) with acceptance and light resistance at the same time
• Noel displaying the perfect Montessori behavior . . . completing his "task" by disposing of his results
• Both boys, using our downstairs "seating" and showing off their new talents

What a great parental lesson in not underestimating what your kids may or may not be ready for . . . definitely planning to take a greater number of "leaps" in the future.

St. Alcuin Garden Party

Today we attended garden parties for both Ethan and Noel's class. Every family brings something for the garden (Plants, Sand, Pumpkins, etc.) and the parents and kids plant and decorate the garden that the children will tend to for the rest of the year.

Below are some pics from the event:

The best way to pick rosemary is without pants:





















Gardening Michael Jackson style:
























Dad and Noel planting flowers:





















The always successful class photo:
















A few pics of Guy Smiley:

Sleeping struggles with Ethan . . .

It's definitely safe to say that each of our boys has his own set of amazing talents. When it comes to Ethan, he has always excelled in the "gross motor skills" area . . . he was the first to pull-up, the first to crawl, the first to walk, and, as of August, the first to decide that his crib is too small to contain him. It's honestly a trait we'd have loved for him to work through and retire, but he seems committed to keeping it in his repotoire.


What is genuinely amazing is the strength and skill he displays when getting out . . . he displays both the flexibility of a yogi (as he lifts his leg over his head to latch onto the crib railing) and the strength of a lineman as he first lifts himself up and then delicately lowers himself down. He's not afraid to use an open drawer or his crib mattress for a little assistance, but most of the time he just goes straight to the ground. Now, without further fanfare, here are some pictures of Ethan's greatest crib escapes . . .

First up, our first confirmation that he was in fact escaping the crib . . . prior to this August Saturday morning, Weezie had indicated that she thought he was able to get out, but, at 19 months, we didn't believe it could be possible. Fast forward to Dad coming into their room bright and early with their morning milk cups, only to discover Ethan experimenting with the latest craze amongst the kids, planking!!! He was cool as a cucumber, just hanging out long enough for Dad to help him make the transition to the ground.























Shortly this initial discovery, he displayed his talents on a far too frequent basis . . . we'd often perform our normal bedtime checks only to discover Ethan exploring new sleeping spaces . . .

The recliner . . .

The large pillow (ok, well, its a large dog bed, if we're being honest, but we DID buy it new at least!) that we placed at the base of the dresser to protect against an unexpected dismount error . . .



























Lastly, he displayed his skills at Gramma and Papa's place, deciding their twin bed looked far more appealing than his crib . . . at least we know he's not just trying to escape when he's home!

First days of school at St. Alcuin . . .

The boys started a Toddler Program this Fall at St. Alcuin. It's a Montessori School, which, contrary to what Ron thinks, does not require a vow of silence, but is a great learning environment that encourages independent thinking, self-reliance and a sense of community.



Ethan and Noel are in separate classes and this is essentially the first time they've been apart from each other for more than an hour. Below are a few pictures from their first weeks along with some amusing dialogue from Noel's teacher (Just an FYI...Ethan's teacher talks to us about Ethan at the end of each class, so we don't get these types of emails. Noel's teacher doesn't like speaking "about the student in front of the student.")



Day 1: This picture just oozes "Prison Yard" - you can just see Ethan asking Noel, "What are you in for?"

"Noel will stay from 8:00-9:00 one more day; I felt his tears were the 'sad' kind. We could distract him a little and he seemed to enjoy being outside, especially trying to push the wheelbarrow.

Thanks!

P.S. Noel's shorts were extremely tight when I tried to push them down and pull them back up – perhaps you have some that are more loose in the waistband that he could wear to school. Thanks!"

















Day 2: "Noel spent most of the morning in the garden – he went straight from the hallway door to the garden door – hoping to see Ethan. Ethan came out about 20 minutes later. However, Noel did join us for a language lesson for a short time."























Day 3: Things seem to get better with the boys, however, I needed a little direction from the teacher:
"There were some tears again this morning. Standing at the fence across from each other seemed comforting one moment and then one’s tears would set the other off the next moment. Noel tried to crawl under the fence to get to his brother! He was interested in a ball, the broom and the trike. 9:30 tomorrow! Let us receive Noel at the door, rather than you stepping inside the classroom. Thanks."




















Some pics of Ethan eating with friends and watering some plants:

Day 6: "The boys were on the playground together for about 15 minutes this morning. The boys have seen each other through the gate or fence but this is the first time really together. Noel found Ethan in the sandbox and turned around to point out to me that he was there. They spent the entire time running the length of the playground with Noel in the lead. Ethan was weepy when Noel came back to the garden and Noel gave Ethan the sweetest wave goodbye without tears. :)"

That one just broke our heart...Ethan is usually the "tough guy" of the two and it was sweet to see that Ethan really needs Noel.

More to come!

Random pics from the late summer . . .

Some great one-off pictures from the late summer months, all thanks to our recent return to Casa Versailles, post-remodeling!

First up, Ethan and Noel "floor surfing" on our new sheepskin rug that technically belongs on our kitchen table bench, but seems to spend more time on the floor:















Next up, Noel going backwards into his barca-lounger, which we've finally pulled out of storage. He and Ethan have matching chairs and they get to play "big boy" and recline like Daddy and Pai:

Lastly, our neighbor across the street had a boat temporarily parked in his driveway and it became a fantastic BIG TOY for the boys, who are currently fascinated with the big vehicle category. Ethan decided he was going to be in charge of driving for the trip.

All four of us are definitely thrilled to be back in the house!

Brudam Brigade's First Trip to the Zoo!

Today was definitely one of our best days as a family . . . the Dallas weather dropped below 100 for the first time since June and we took full advantage by taking the boys on their first outing to the Dallas Zoo! All four of us were in great spirits throughout the day and the boys had much more positive reaction to seeing animals in person than we'd expected.

We started off the day with a monorail ride . . . twenty minutes in duration and about ten minutes too long given that the boys were required to remain seated for the duration of the ride, which was not their preference. Cute pic of Noel just as we were starting the ride:















After the monorail, we made our way to the new Africa section, which was shockingly authentic and well-designed (surprising given the repuation of the Dallas Zoo). Once in "Africa," we watched the trainers examine and then feed the lions (hard for the boys to get to the front and see) and then made our way to giraffe feeding station, which was the biggest hit. The boys absolutely LOVED the feeding . . . the giraffe area is actually sunken by a couple of floors, so we were able to walk right up to their mouth-level. We purchased large leaves of romaine lettuce and the boys were completely fearless . . . Ethan was especially giggly and actually tried to prolong the experience by tearing his lettuce into very small pieces (which obviously didn't sit well with the giraffe):



























After the giraffe feeding, we made our way over to the Children's Zoo, which also exceeded our expectations. Our first activity at the Children's Zoo was the horse petting area, which got some cute and funny reactions from the boys, who were perhaps thinking they horse hair would be as soft/slick as the synthetic horse hair from one of their peek-a-boo books:
































After walking through the barnyard section (pigs, bunnies, horses, barn owls), we went to a great koi pond with an underwater viewing area that was right at the boys' eye level. We then made our way over the baby goat (kids, if you will) feeding/petting section, which was another big hit . . . that is until Ethan starting confusing kid poop for kid food and we had to make a hasty exit:


































This was certainly one of our most successful days as a Brigeade . . . which was evidenced by the fact that the boys were literally crashed out asleep within 3 minutes of pulling out of our parking space!